起信論疏筆削記 9.32

9.32

"As a sūtra says..." adduces proof, namely the Avataṃsaka-sūtra. The sūtra says: "Like a person who in a dream sees his body fallen into a great river, and desiring to cross over, produces great boldness and employs great expedient means; because of producing great boldness and employing expedient means, he immediately awakens; having awakened, all actions cease. The bodhisattva is also like this: seeing the bodies of sentient beings in the four flows, desiring to rescue them, he produces great boldness and generates great vigor; by means of bold vigor, he reaches the Immovable ground; once he has reached this, all [actions] cease, and the activities of both characters do not appear at all." Its intention is to say that this bodhisattva, from having marks and having exertion, enters this ground of marklessness and non-exertion, attaining the endurance of the non-arising of dharmas, seeing neither self nor sentient beings, neither bodhi nor nirvāṇa, neither saṃsāra nor afflictions. Both activities cease, because he has attained the non-conceptualization of dharmas. Here, in terms of the ultimate stage, actualized enlightenment is identical with the original; there is no mark to be awakened to, and it is equal and equal. Although the stages differ, the general meaning is not different; hence it says "the general meaning is like this."